Shields Lady (16 page)

nearly gold, too, the expression in them feminine and mysterious and shy and questioning. The buff colored suit she wore fit her very snugly, emphasizing her small waist and the proud tilt of her gently curving breasts. A flash of crimson drew Gryph's eye. The scarlet-toe was clinging possessively to its perch on Sariana's shoulder. It regarded Gryph with an unblinking gaze.

            Gryph found himself smiling slightly as he looked at the lizard. Then he met Sariana's eyes again and it hit him full force. This was his Shieldmate, he thought dazedly. He had done it. He had found a woman with whom he could link. The always precarious future of his clan had been provided with one more chance at survival. He had taken the first major step toward fulfilling his primary duty to his clan and at the same time he had found himself a true mate.

            Gryph wanted to shout his triumphant joy until the elegant corridors of the Avylyn household rang with the news of what had happened between him and Sariana. He wanted to take his Shieldmate back to his clan house and parade her in, front of his parents and his friends.

            But most of all he wanted to sweep Sariana off her feet, cany her into the bed chamber and lay her down on the swinging bed. He wanted to make love to her properly this time. He wanted to watch her respond to him, hear her cries of pleasure and satisfaction, see the full knowledge of their relationship blaze in her gentle eyes.

            Instead of ail that, Gryph inclined his head in a formal greeting and said, "I bid you the luck of the day, Sariana."

            She returned the polite greeting, her tremulous smile growing more confident. "Luck to you, Gryph. I thought perhaps you would want to sleep in this morning. How is your shoulder?"

            He smiled crookedly, memories of the night shimmering through his head. "You will be happy to hear that it feels a great deal better than it did last night."

            Sariana's own smile slipped a little and Glyph saw the memories in her eyes. "I'm glad. It must have been quite… quite uncomfortable for you."

            "You know exactly how uncomfortable it was for me, don't you, Sariana?" Gryph watched her closely, wondering how much she would admit to remembering. He drew in a deep breath and prepared to make his apologies. He certainly owed her a few. "And I know how unpleasant parts of last night were for you," he added quickly. "In addition to your own personal feelings, you were being bombarded with a lot of what I was reeling. I sincerely regret the pain you experienced last night."

            "I'm not sure I want to talk about this, Gryph. I've been thinking, and I've decided that some things are better left undiscussed. I'd had several glasses of punch last night by the time you showed up and I'm afraid I may have been a little drunk when you - "

            He interrupted her, intent on completing his formal apology. "I was not in full control, as I should have been. My only excuse is that, as I told you, such a linking as we shared was as unfamiliar to me as it was to you. I didn't realize how much you would pick up on what I was feeling. No one ever warned me the bonding would be that strong. I wasn't prepared for it myself so I couldn't prepare you. If you're worrying about it, I can promise you that next time neither of us will be so jolted by the experience. Our senses will quickly adjust and become attuned. We will learn to filter out the discomforts of a linking and focus instead on the, uh, more pleasant aspects…" Gryph felt himself redden slightly as he ran out of words. For the life of him he couldn't tell what Sariana was thinking.

            She looked up at him, her expression unfathomable. He wondered how she could still be such a mystery to him after what they had been through together last night. Then he remembered his father once telling him that the mystery of a woman, even a Shieldmate, was never completely solved. Gryph waited in an agony of suspense for Sariana to acknowledge the link that had been forged between them. When she did, he would explain her new status to her.

            "Last night was something of an experience for both of us, wasn't it?" Sariana observed with astonishing calm. She absently touched the scarlet-toe on her shoulder. The creature's tongue lanced out and briefly touched her palm. Sariana lowered her hand and smiled a little too brilliantly at Gryph. "I think we were both a little out of control. You were obviously reacting strongly to the anesthetic the medic gave you for your shoulder and I was reacting to the Avylyns' punch. I am still not completely accustomed to the clever concoctions you westerners create with alcohol. In the east we stick to wine

and beer. I should know by now that any punch served at a party here is bound to be quite strong. But I'm glad to hear you're feeling better this morning. So am I."

            Gryph stared at her, at a loss for words. He had been prepared for hurt accusations, a host of questions and a great deal of confusion on Sariana's part. There was much, after all, that needed to be explained. The one thing he had not expected was a complete denial of the whole experience. He remembered belatedly that the lady had a way with words.

            "Sariana," he finally said quietly, "there's no point in denying what happened last night. You were not under the influence of too much punch and I was fully aware of what I was doing, even if I was a little groggy from the anesthetic." His mouth curved faintly. "You, of all people, know the anesthetic wasn't working very well, anyway."

            Sariana's fingers tightened on the door. "Why don't we meet in my office after breakfast, Gryph? We have a lot to discuss. I want a full report of what happened last night when you went to meet your informant. Then we can make plans for the next step in this matter of retrieving the prisma cutter."

            "Don't think you can retreat behind a wall of words and a business discussion," he muttered. "Listen, Sariana, I don't want to put this off until after breakfast. I think we should discuss it now. You have to understand a few things."

            She nodded quickly. "Yes, I know. I have a whole list of questions." Gryph relaxed slightly. "I thought you might."

            'To begin with, I want to hear every detail about the meeting with your informer last night. I want to know exactly what happened so we can make plans. I still think we may have to call in the town guards. But we must try to think of some way to protect the Avylyns' reputation. If you're to continue on this assignment, we'll have to concoct a new excuse for your presence in the household. I've been giving that some thought this morning and I've come up with a couple of ideas that might work."

            Gryph stared at her, realizing he hadn't made any headway at all. Sariana was prepared to ignore the whole experience. He could hardly believe it. He stepped through the doorway, forcing her back a pace. From its perch on Sariana's shoulder the scarlet-toe watched Gryph and bared its tiny teeth. Gryph paid no attention to the lizard. His attention was focused on Sariana.

            "You don't seem to understand what's going on here, Sariana," he began with as much patience as he could muster. "I realize you're confused. I'm prepared to explain everything to you. But this is between you and me. I am not particularly interested in the Avylyns' problem at the moment."

            Sariana's smile vanished. "I am sorry to hear that, Gryph, because you were hired precisely for the purpose of interesting yourself in the Avylyns' problems. Are you telling me I am not going to get my money's worth out of you?"

"What money's worth?" he exploded. "So far I haven't received a single trell note from you. Forget the money, we've got more important things to discuss and not a whole lot of time in which to discuss them." Her chin lifted challengingly. "You're going somewhere?"

            "We are going somewhere. You and I. From now on, Sariana, we will be doing most things together." Sariana drew herself up to her full height which put her somewhere in the neighborhood of Gryph's

shoulder.

            "I was not aware you were going to be so possessive," she stated. "Just because we were, well, involved for one night, does not mean you have any claim on me."

"No claim on you! Have you lost your senses, lady?"

            "You westerners are all alike." Sariana glared at him. "High-strung and emotional. If you're going to insist on conducting a temperamental scene over the subject of our relationship, I would prefer to do so later in my office. After we have analyzed what you found out about the missing cutter last night."

            "I'll just bet you would prefer to hold our discussion in your office where you can hide behind that black stone desk of yours and give lectures on the emotional nature of westerners. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let you get away with that." Gryph paused to take a grip on his temper. Patience, he reminded himself. This was a time for patience. He was dealing with a strong-willed, proud young woman who had been through a very disorienting experience. Her first sexual encounter with a man had not been anything close to what she had probably been expecting. She was only trying to cope with something that

must seem very alien to her. "Sariana, I want to explain a few things to you."

            "Such as?"

            "Such as the laws of the land," he retorted gently. "You've been living with the Avylyns for several months. Hasn't anyone ever mentioned the First Generation Pact to you?"

            "No. And I really don't have time for a history lesson. Nor do I feel like listening to any legends right now. I'm on my way to breakfast."

            She walked straight past him into the gallery and closed the door behind her. The scarlet-toe on her shoulder showed its teeth again in what Gryph decided was a very superior attitude for a lizard. It was an attitude the creature had clearly adopted from its new owner.

            Sariana made her way briskly along the gallery, the hem of her gown snapping at her ankles. Gryph watched her for a moment, absorbing the tilt of her proudly carried head, the straight line of her gracefully shaped back and the no-nonsense sway of her hips.

            It occurred to him then that his new Shieldmate had a full measure of pride as well as courage. She was trying very hard to pretend that nothing unusual had happened, but beneath that sweetly arrogant pose was a young woman trying to grapple with what must have been a very unsettling mix of emotions.

            Obviously she had decided on the approach she was going to use to deal with her problem. She was going to try to pretend nothing had happened. Gryph admired her spirit even while he was forced to struggle with his own temper.

            Automatically he touched the lock on his weapon kit, remembering the passion and pain and the unbreakable bond that had been forged during the night. Then he thought about Brinton dying in that alley because another Shield wanted the prisma cutter. Gryph had no choice. There was no time to continue the wooing process. He could not afford to wait on the convenience of his nervous bride. If she thought she could interview him later in her office and discuss their relationship at some unspecified time in the future, she had a surprise coming.

            He bad tried to do this quietly and in private, but she had refused to listen to him. She was bent, as usual, on having everyming her own way. To that end she was endeavoring to use her first major line of defense, her glib tongue. Her lack of fear of him was almost laughable. She still had no idea how indulgent be was being with her. She still did not know that under the law, her fate had been sealed last night.

Gryph did not like untenable, unresolved situations. It was his nature to face matters and settle them. Perhaps the easiest, fastest and surest method of handling this situation was to force Sariana to face reality.

            Sariana swept into the breakfast room and realized just how late she was running when she saw the Avylyns already gathered for the meal. Five silvery blond beads turned toward her and five pairs of dark eyes took in the grim look on the face of the man striding through the doorway behind her.

            "The luck of the day to all of you," Sariana said with all the cheerfulness she could manage. No one in the room could imagine how much effort it took. Her normally strong self-control was very shaky. She didn't quite trust any of her emotions or feelings. She had known the moment she opened her door and found Gryph on the other side that life had suddenly become precarious.

            The only positive thing she could find in the situation was that she was becoming accustomed to the unpredictability of her life these days. Nothing had been straightforward or predictable since the day she had learned she had failed to make the cut at the academy. The only thing she could do was hold on to her self-control. At times it seemed that it was all she had left.

            The Avylyns made the proper greetings and then burst into exuberant chatter as they discussed the success of their annual ball.

            "It came off superbly," Lady Avylyn chortled with great delight. "I was just telling Jasso that we were right not to stint this year. Not a soul suspected that we might be having a few trifling financial problems."

            Lord Jasso nodded his head in satisfaction. "Quite so. You were right, my dear. Everyone was most impressed, I'm sure."

            "Well I, for one, had a wonderful time," Mara proclaimed, her eyes darting to Gryph's face as if to be certain he had registered her comment. Sariana realized the younger woman was slightly miffed about Gryph's lack of interest in being socially introduced to her friends and acquaintances. Sariana also suspected that Mara had developed a rather deep curiosity about the Shield.

            "You always have a good time as long as you dance every dance," Bryer told his sister. "I didn't see you sitting on the sidelines," his mother said with a complacent smile. "You did a turn with

every young lady in the room."

            Bryer grinned. "What did you expect? I was merely full-filling my responsibilities as a host." Luri spoke up. "I don't see what's so great about dancing. Waste of time if you ask me." The yellow-eyed krellcat, Luri's constant companion, yawned in agreement and tucked its furry,